More players, exposure will benefit hockey – Fernandes

It is by now no secret that the female indoor hockey team went winless during their stint in the USA last weekend, in the Pan Am Indoor Hockey Cup.
On this premise, Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) President Philip Fernandes has admitted that the experience has opened the door for some changes to be made in the sport and shared some suggestions on how hockey in Guyana can be transformed for the better.
In the first instance, Fernandes shared that more players needed to be recruited.
“In order to see improved performances at this level, in the future, firstly, the Guyana Hockey Board needs to try to broaden the base of players. We do a strong group of good players that form this team, but you know, when we’re exposed to things like injuries and so on, we need to have adequate replacements,” Fernandes opined.

“So we need to draw from a bigger pool to get the best talent.”
He then added, “The efforts of the junior competition and these kinds of things that the Hockey Board has been trying to do is in the right direction and that needs to be continued once the COVID situation eases.”
On the other hand, more exposure to competition will benefit players, according to Fernandes.
“Secondly, exposure to high-quality competition is very, very, important. A lot of the teams here that we’ve played have a lot of experience playing internationals, playing friendly internationals, playing against top club sides from leading nations, while our players play a little bit of domestic competition, and then they come to this level, which is completely different and try to compete,” Fernandes explained.
The GHB President went on to say, “It does cost a lot of money, but I think it’s important for the GHB to try to find the means to expose our young players to high-level competition, more consistently. So, when they do come to Pan Am Indoor cups and other qualifiers, they’re able to compete.”
Overall, the Hockey Board President is of the opinion that there was much to learn, in their losses, but the Pan Am Cup tournament provided a standard to aspire to.
“In terms of positivity from a tour like this, I think there is greater learning opportunities than when we actually win. I think the young girls in particular were able to see at this tournament, the kind of level it takes to be successful at a Pan American standard competition,”
Guyana suffered four losses, to USA, Argentina, Canada and Uruguay, in the Pan Am Indoor Cup which was eventually won by USA.